The summaries are free for public
use. The Chronic Liver Disease
Foundation will continue to add and
archive summaries of articles deemed
relevant to CLDF by the Board of
Trustees and its Advisors.
Abstract Details
Hepatitis C virus and natural compounds: a new antiviral approach?
Calland N, Dubuisson J, Rouillé Y, Séron K. Viruses. 2012 Oct 17;4(10):2197-217. doi: 10.3390/v4102197.
Source
Inserm U1019, CNRS UMR8204, Center for Infection & Immunity of Lille (CIIL), Institut Pasteur de Lille, Université Lille Nord de France, Lille, France. karin.seron@ibl.fr.
Abstract
Hepatitis C is a major global health burden with an estimated 160 million infected individuals worldwide. This long-term disease evolves slowly, often leading to chronicity and potentially to liver failure. There is no anti-HCV vaccine, and, until recently, the only treatment available, based on pegylated interferon and ribavirin, was partially effective, and had considerable side effects. With recent advances in the understanding of the HCV life cycle, the development of promising direct acting antivirals (DAAs) has been achieved. Their use in combination with the current treatment has led to encouraging results for HCV genotype 1 patients. However, this therapy is quite expensive and will probably not be accessible for all patients worldwide. For this reason, constant efforts are being made to identify new antiviral molecules. Recent reports about natural compounds highlight their antiviral activity against HCV. Here, we aim to review the natural molecules that interfere with the HCV life cycle and discuss their potential use in HCV therapy.